NO ONE WAS WAITING ON ME

The Laughter Yoga Session had just ended and people were gathering their things to leave.

“No one was waiting on me”, she repeated.

The Laughter Yoga Session had ended with a Laughter Meditation and a guided imagery.

During the guided imagery I said, “Imagine you are in a place of beauty, nature is all around, and you’re emerged in a beautiful body of water. It is clear, crisp, and cool. You look out across the water and you see a group of your friends on the shore. They are gathering and preparing a meal. They are all waiting on you to share a meal with you. You swim to the shore and are greeted with a hug and a towel. Sitting in a circle with your friends, enjoying this meal, you look around and realize how loved you are. You are at bliss and all is right in the world. Remember, that no matter where you are or what you’re doing, this is a place that you can come back to anytime you want to.”

She continues, “During the guided meditation, when you said to ‘look across the water and see your friends’, I looked, but ‘no one was waiting on me’. She went on to explain that as a long-term cancer caregiver; she had spent so much time caring for her husband; she had not taken the time to cultivate any friends.

I said to her, “Well, now that you see that there was ‘no one waiting on you’, you have a choice. You can continue to isolate yourself or you can begin cultivating friends now.

So, where are you in this story?

Are you so consumed with your ‘labor of love’ as a cancer caregiver that ‘no one is waiting on you’ or do you take the time to ‘cultivate the garden of friendship’?